For years Facebook has been identified as "just a social networking site" where you can poke your friends and set up events (which will later result in some people posting statuses along the lines of "OMG Soooo druNk at thee bar! Best night everrrrrr!!"). As well with drunk statuses, within a few days of the event people tend to post drunk pictures or statuses about how angry they are with a nameless person who "knows what they did!!!". When it all boils down to it, for many people Facebook has become a very tell-all website, and letting their current or future employers access their pages would be career suicide.
However, little do people of my generation seem to realize, Facebook can actually be beneficial for your career life! By starting a professional profile, it is easy to allow possible employers to get a more personalized and intimate look at who you are as a person but also as an employee. You can create yourself an eye catching e-resume for the world to see. By linking to certain groups and events on Facebook as well you can start networking with the public to see if anyone knows of job openings that you might be interested in. By "liking" certain pages you can show the people viewing your profile where your interests lie and the organizations you may follow or be involved with. For more tips on keeping your profile professional check out Online College's
25 Common Facebook Faux Pas

I will admit that, thought I was originally skeptical about professional profiles on Facebook, I now see the advantages that come with them. When you look at a profile versus a paper copy of a resume, the profile has so much more potential and individual flair! The colour scheme you choose, the photos that you post, and the groups that you like are very telling about a person. As well it's an easier way to fit a lot of information into one compact space. Most resumes are only supposed to be two pages long. In a lot of cases I have found it hard to keep my resume within two pages without removing information that I found important. With Facebook though I can put in as much information as necessary without the page looking too full! To see what my professional profile looks like just click the image!
Another great example of a professional Facebook profile that you should check out was done by one of my classmates
Amanda. In her blog post she discusses her own ideas of the professional profile, and links you to hers as well.
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